The invention relates to a window/lens cleaning device, in particular for a motor vehicle, having a nozzle appliance for spraying cleaning fluid, the nozzle appliance being mounted in an adjustable manner on a holding part.
Published specification DE 197 42 471 A1 has disclosed a window/lens cleaning device of the generic type which has a nozzle appliance in the form of a fluidic nozzle for spraying cleaning fluid onto the window/lens of a motor vehicle. The nozzle appliance is mounted via a ball-and-socket joint on a holding part which at the same time forms a connecting branch for the cleaning fluid. The holding part can be fastened to a body part of the motor vehicle in an invariable manner, while the nozzle appliance can be rotated relative to the holding part and can be orientated with respect to the window/lens in order to compensate for tolerances.
The published specification DE 196 52 083 A1 has disclosed a window/lens cleaning device having a nozzle stem and a washer nozzle, in particular a fluidic nozzle, the window/lens cleaning device being designed as a rigid component which cannot be adjusted per se, and being mounted in a pivotable manner on the body of a motor vehicle at a first bearing point. At a second bearing point, the window/lens cleaning device is arranged on the body in an adjustable manner via an eccentric screw and a clamping-spring arrangement. An adjustment of the eccentric screw enables the entire window/lens cleaning device to be slightly pivoted about the first bearing point in order to compensate for manufacturing tolerances on the vehicle body, and so the angle of inclination with respect to the window/lens can therefore be set.
Furthermore, published specification DE 198 02 491 A1 has disclosed a window/lens cleaning device having a nozzle head and a base, the window/lens cleaning device being designed as a non-adjustable unit. The base can be inserted in an exactly fitting manner into a cutout in a body part of a motor vehicle and has, on a side surface, a clipping arrangement which, in the installed state, acts on the body part and ensures that the window/lens cleaning device is fixed in position on the body part. In the installed state, the nozzle head sits in an unadjustable manner on the body part and has a shaping which is coordinated with aerodynamic conditions. Two different nozzle appliances for spraying washer fluid are provided in the nozzle head.
Other known window/lens cleaning devices which produce a concentrated, directed fluid jet have a nozzle head which is mounted rotatably on the body of a motor vehicle, is designed such that it is sufficiently stable and the shaping of which is matched aerodynamically to a certain rotational position. This requires a complicated mounting, dimensioned in accordance with the possible loads and rotational movements, on a body part. Adjustment of the nozzle head results in the latter leaving the aerodynamically optimised position giving rise to undesirable flow conditions.
The invention is based on the object of providing a window/lens cleaning device of the type mentioned at the beginning, which can be produced in a particularly simple manner and can be optimised aerodynamically and whose adjustable nozzle appliance is arranged in a particularly well-protected manner.
According to the invention there is provided a device having an arrangement wherein a nozzle appliance is surrounded by a nozzle cap within which the nozzle appliance can be adjusted within a wide range. The nozzle cap can be fixed to a body part or to another motor-vehicle component which is fixed to the body. Since said nozzle cap is immovable, it can be optimised aerodynamically and coordinated precisely with the flow conditions over the vehicle body irrespective of the possible positions of the nozzle appliance. The nozzle cap can be produced from an advantageous material, which is optionally different from the material of the nozzle appliance, in particular from an impact-proof and heat-resistant plastic or from a light metal. The nozzle cap preferably surrounds the nozzle appliance on virtually all sides. The adjustability of the nozzle appliance within the nozzle cap enables the window/lens cleaning device according to the invention to be fitted in various types of vehicle without structural changes and permits the nozzle appliance to be set flexibly with respect to the window/lens to be cleaned. Furthermore, adjustment of the nozzle appliance enables manufacturing and installation tolerances to be compensated for in a simple manner without a substantial change to the outer contour of the window/lens cleaning device. There is the option of mounting a plurality of different nozzle appliances in an independently adjustable manner under a common nozzle cap.
In a development of the invention, the window/lens cleaning device includes, as the holding part, a nozzle cap which completely covers the nozzle appliance and on at least one side is equipped with at least one passage opening for the cleaning fluid sprayed by the nozzle appliance. A nozzle cap of this type can be shaped not only to enable optimum flow around it, but also reliably protects the nozzle appliance situated beneath it from dirt, moisture, ice, wind, impact loads and heat losses. Particularly when nozzle appliances which can be heated are used, a nozzle cap according to the invention enables the consumption of heat energy in the nozzle appliance to be reduced, since the nozzle cap prevents the nozzle appliance from cooling. For this purpose, heat insulation may be provided in the nozzle cap. Furthermore, a nozzle cap of this type can be shaped to have a particularly pleasing appearance.
In a further development of the invention, the nozzle cap has a covering section which is surface finished, coated and/or painted. A surface finish, coating or painting of the nozzle cap can be undertaken in particular for the purpose of protecting against corrosion, for improving the resistance to weathering or for the pleasing appearance. Moreover, a surface coating can have properties which are particularly favourable in terms of flow and which deflect dirt. The nozzle cap is preferably chrome-plated and/or at least part of it is painted in the colour of the adjacent body parts.
In a further development of the invention, the nozzle cap has a holding section which can be inserted into a cutout in a body part of a motor vehicle and can be fastened to this body part. The holding section is preferably designed integrally with a covering section or is connected fixedly to the latter forming the nozzle cap together with the latter. The holding section serves on the one hand to fix the nozzle cap to the body of the motor vehicle and on the other hand for the movable mounting of the nozzle appliance.
In a further development of the invention, the holding section has bearing elements for the moveable mounting of the nozzle appliance. Sliding bearings for holding shafts connected to the nozzle appliance are preferably suitable as the bearing elements. In particular, a holding section produced from plastic makes it possible in a simple manner to provide elastically deformable recesses having favourable frictional properties to latch spindles or shafts in. Alternatively, a ball-and-socket joint or similar means for mounting the nozzle appliance in the nozzle cap can also be provided.
In a further development of the invention, the holding section has at least one clipping and/or latching element with which the nozzle cap can be fastened to the body part. The clipping or latching element preferably protrudes laterally from the holding section and can be deformed elastically during installation in such a manner that first of all it does not substantially obstruct the introduction of the holding section into the cutout of the body part and subsequently grips the cutout from behind in such a manner that the nozzle cap is fastened in a form-fitting manner in the cutout. In this arrangement, the clipping or latching element preferably interacts with the covering section of the nozzle cap in such a manner that the body part is grasped by them as they interact. The clipping or latching element can also be designed in such a manner that in the installed state it acts in a force-fitting manner on the body part or engages in a form-fitting manner into a cutout on the body part.
In a further development of the invention, the nozzle appliance has a fluidic nozzle with fan-shaped spraying characteristics. The fluidic nozzle enables a large region of the window/lens to be cleaned to be wetted with cleaning fluid. As a result, the nozzle appliance then only needs to be adjustable essentially perpendicularly with respect to the fan plane of the spray jet produced in order to ensure, by setting the nozzle appliance, optimum wetting of the window/lens.
In a further development of the invention, the nozzle appliance is mounted in a manner such that it can be pivoted about a bearing spindle which is orientated at least approximately parallel to the plane of the spray jet of the fluidic nozzle and/or to the surface of the window/lens to be sprayed. This results in a nozzle cap which can be produced and fitted in a particularly simple manner. The nozzle appliance can preferably be inclined perpendicularly with respect to the plane of the spray jet of the fluidic nozzle and perpendicularly with respect to the window/lens to be sprayed. Furthermore, in spite of the simple construction, great flexibility and a high number of setting options of the nozzle appliance are ensured.